Spilling Guts

Part 56 - The Long Ride

Will zoned out, watching the buildings pass by at a normal speed limit. Beni had cracked all four windows on the ride back to Watch Two; he sucked in comparatively clean air. He had known when he got up that morning that it would be a unique and busy day; something to tell his mother about when she called for an update. He hadn't expected digging through trash.

His mother probably would. He had gone through a phase in his teens when he had collected every scrap of cardboard, plastic, and aluminum from public trash bins so he could recycle them. Also so he could collect enough cans for cash and afford the premium Millennium Falcon model.

Louis hadn't said a word since the SUV began moving. The ride back would be awkward silence between Beni's selection of pop songs, Will accepted that.

Which was why didn't expect-

"Thank you."

Will turned his head to Louis. He must have heard that wrong. "Hm?"

Louis didn't look at him, more focused on a new stain on his trousers. "Thank you. For being a green geek and keeping my cups for so long. And helping dig through all that, back there."

The day felt like a sorting pile of "thank yous" and "sorrys". What was one more?

"You're welcome," said Will.

A grunt in reply.

Will's lips twisted in a hopeful smirk. "Does that mean you'll heed the recycle bin at my desk now?"

"Don't push it." Louis managed to raise his head in Will's direction. "Why did you have them for so long? I would have figured you'd get them recycled pronto?"

"Mostly putting things off." Will shrugged. "There was a week or so after Freewill that I didn't do much around the apartment. Still trying to process things, and the cups just... weren't a priority. And there weren't many places that locally recycled polystyrene, let alone food stained polystyrene; its mostly the stuff that comes in packaging that gets recycled in bulk. I had to ask a few friends where to go. Even then, the up-cycler hasn't been in business for long."

That had probably too much information. Louis hadn't asked about the intricacies of plastic recycling. But it filled the silence.

"Oh." Louis slipped off his shades, rubbing at his face with a corner of his shirt that wasn't stained as badly as the rest of it. A wide patch of hip bone and abdominal muscle flashed, pale against the rust red of Louis' shirt.

Will blushed. Purely physical, he reminded himself. Not a reason for romantic inclinations. Get over it.

He focused back on the passing buildings, traffic passing faster now. "Have there been things you've been putting off since... Freewill?"

"Kind of-"

Will squinted as a bright glare of sunlight bouncing off the mirrored surface of a building blinded him through the crack in the SUV's windows.

"Kind of what?" he turned to ask.

Louis no longer sat at eye level.

"Fuckin' son-of-a-shit!" Louis sat in the dip of the SUV's bucket seat, tiny and pissed. His shades, dwarfing him, lay at his side, and the seatbelt slowly tightened now that it held nothing.

Rachel, who had been looking ahead and not paying attention to the conversation behind her, spun around. "Did he just--?"

"Yeah," said Will. He leaned over as far as he could in his seat while still keeping his belt on. Louis looked fine, flailing around on the seat, pressing his face into the fabric as he swore up a blue streak that could curdle milk.

"In my car?" demanded Beni, eyes on the road but hands tight on the wheel.

"It happens," said Will. He had his hands ready to steady Louis if the car swerved to one side. "There was a bright light and his shades were off."

"Louis, how do you feel?" asked Rachel. She looked tempted to break Beni's rule of being a passenger and taking her seatbelt off to get to the back.

"Pissed!" shouted Louis.

"Well we are two minutes away from the Watch," said Beni. "How do you want to handle getting him inside? Sneak him through security with him in a pocket? Swallow him?"

Louis froze on his seat. "Why is eating me even an option for this?"

"It seems to happen a lot," pointed out Beni. "And it takes you, what, fifteen minutes to get back to normal?"

"I am not putting him anywhere near my mouth, you saw what we were digging through fifteen minutes ago!" protested Will. And he had eaten lunch less than an hour ago. He did not need a reminder of what bean soup and croquets tasted like if Rachel had to pull Louis out of his stomach.

"Could you all calm down?" Rachel rolled her eyes and groaned. "Drop me off at the front door so I can get this stuff into the lab, and then drive around until Louis un-shrinks. It's not that hard."

"Oh."

"Me and Will are still gonna have a talk with you and Cetz once we are clean," yelled Louis.

"Fine."

The car kept silent until Rachel hopped out with the containment box and Beni re-entered traffic.

"So," said Beni, her voice his and syrupy like she embodied sugar in its sticky glory. "How was the date with the ex?"

"Wasn't a date," said Will. He did not want to air out his past relationships in front of Louis.

Louis sat still, looking at anything but Will, yet stiff and attentive.

"Are you going to see him again?" asked Beni.

This is going to be a long ride, thought Will.